Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission held quarterly meeting June 21

​​​​​​NOTE: The following is a summary of actions taken by the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission at its quarterly meeting on June 21, 2024. Official meeting minutes will be reviewed at a future meeting. Please note that proposed regulation changes are reviewed by the legislative branch for legal conformity, which typically takes several months. Both proposed and recently enacted amendments are posted at fw.ky.gov. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources provides this summary to enhance the public’s awareness about potential changes to hunting, fishing, boating or other related regulations.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 11, 2024) — In a June 21, 2024 meeting featuring four new board members, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to recommend amendments to several hunting and wildlife regulations. Topics addressed included the 2025 bear and elk hunting seasons and the requirement of customer identification on trail cameras on public hunting areas.​​​

​​​In addition to approving the March 1, 2024, quarterly meeting minutes, commission members voted in favor of approving the following action items presented at the meeting (authorizing staff to promulgate regulatory changes for legislative approval).

Action Items Approved by the Commission (requires legislative approval):​​​

• ​Revised provisions for hunting and fishing on public lands
• Amend 301 KAR 3:005 – Public use of newly acquired or newly managed lands
• Define terms and promulgate new definition regulations for Chapter 3 (this will not create new content but will better organize the definitions used in Chapter 3 as a whole)
• Review provisions for FILO properties
  
• Add provisions for property acquired or set aside for other uses (such as office space, equipment storage, etc.)
• Adjust the timing properties may be under temporary restrictions
• Recommendations for the 2025 Bear Hunting Season
• Amend 301 KAR 2:300 – Black bear seasons and requirements
• Establish a 14-day early archery and crossbow bear season in Clinton and Wayne counties to begin on the third Saturday in September and coincide with the opening of crossbow deer season
• Recommendations for the 2025 elk season
• Amend 301 KAR 2:132 - Elk hunting seasons, permits, zones and requirements
• Open Paul VanBooven WMA and Fishtrap Lake WMA to elk hunting
• Move opening day of cow firearm week 2 to the first Saturday in January to alleviate overlap with Christmas and Christmas Eve holidays
• Clean up baiting regulations to prohibit hunting over a baited area within 30 days of bait being removed
• Landowner elk permits (provided in exchange for public hunting access) can only be used on property enrolled in the public access agreement
  
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  ​ Note: Three points were removed from consideration for this action item. “Prohibit drone use in take of elk” was removed as the subject matter fell under a discussion item posted later on the June 21, 2024, meeting agenda. “Draw elk hunting units during the initial drawing” and “Amend loyalty redraw to fit this new drawing system” were removed to include in discussion at a future meeting.​​
  


• Require identification on trail cameras on WMAs/public hunting areas
• Amend 301 KAR 3:010 – Public Use of Wildlife Management Areas
• Add requirement for each trail camera used on WMAs/public hunting areas to be externally labeled with its owner’s Fish and Wildlife customer identification number
• Clean up this regulation to conform with other regulations in Chapter 2
• Modifications to the permitting criteria, holding criteria and area requirements for multiple permit holders and facilities types
• Amend 301 KAR 2:041 – Shooting areas, dog training areas, commercial foxhound training enclosures, and bobwhite shoot-to-train season
• Amend 301 KAR 2:081 – Transportation and holding of live native wildlife
• Amend 301 KAR 2:082 – Transportation and holding of live exotic wildlife
• Amend 301 KAR 5:022 – License, tag, and permit fees
• Create a noncommercial foxhound training enclosure permit for $25/year, and prescribe enclosure criteria including 40-acre size minimum, fencing, cover, and stocking requirements

If approved by the legislature, proposed administrative regulation changes are anticipated to take effect within six to nine months of their filing.​​​​

​​​Action Items Approved by the Commission (legislative approval not required)​

• Deer dispersal research project within CWD Surveillance Zone counties
• ​Seeking Commission approval to conduct research to determine deer dispersal rates and distances within CWD Surveillance Zone counties

​​​The commission voted to move one action item back to discussion to allow more time for consideration. This item is expected to be an action item for voting at the next regular quarterly meeting.​

• Increase selected deer hunting opportunities in CWD Surveillance Zone counties, and statewide for youths and mentored hunters
• ​Amend 301 KAR 2:172 – Deer hunting seasons, zones, and requirements
• Expand early youth gun deer season to nine consecutive days beginning the second Saturday in October in all four deer hunting Zones
• Expand early muzzleloader deer season to seven consecutive days beginning the third Monday in October in CWD Surveillance Zones counties with antlerless harvest during first five days of this season

​​​In other action, the commission approved a resolution recognizing Cumberland Forest Wildlife Management Area (WMA) project partners for their work in establishing the largest conservation easement in Kentucky history in 2024 with nearly 55,000 acres in Bell, Knox and Leslie counties. The partners include the Kentucky Senate, the Kentucky House of Representatives, The Nature Conservancy in Kentucky and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

The commission also approved a resolution recognizing Administrative Services Director Lisa Cox ahead of her retirement for her contributions to the department during her tenure.

​​​In addition, the commission voted unanimously to approve three land projects discussed in closed session. Details regarding land projects are typically discussed in closed session as allowed under Kentucky’s open meetings law, to help preclude adverse impacts to the commonwealth’s interests in its negotiations and legal proceedings.

The commission also heard new business and discussion items that will be considered further at its next quarterly meeting.

Business items on the commission's meeting agenda that include proposed changes to regulations typically follow a three-step process at successive quarterly meetings, with items introduced first as new business, then proceeding for further discussion, and finally appearing as action items (at the commission’s discretion). This general stepwise process was adopted by the commission in 2020 to allow adequate time for public awareness and comment on proposed regulatory changes. Agendas for commission meetings are posted at fw.ky.gov in advance of the meeting dates, and details about meeting logistics and submitting public comments are included therein.​​​

The meeting and an additional session providing required ethics training for new and existing commission members was livestreamed on the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources’ YouTube channel, where a replay of the meeting is available on demand.​​​

​​​Individuals or organizations may contact their district representative on the commission about any pertinent topic of concern. Procedures for submitting public comments about current business items via email or in person are outlined in the agenda for each meeting, which is generally posted on the agency’s website 1-2 weeks prior to the meeting date.

The commission, a nine-member board comprised of volunteers who serve four-year terms, recommends hunting, fishing and boating regulations on behalf of the anglers, hunters, and other wildlife-related stakeholders in the commonwealth. Any recommendation by the commission to amend or create a state administrative regulation must receive legislative approval before becoming law. The process of promulgating regulations spans several months.​​​

​​​The next quarterly commission meeting date is scheduled for Friday, August 30, 2024, in Frankfort. An agenda will be posted at fw.ky.gov​ when available.​